The use of personalization machines for personalization of documents is known. In such equipment, a document to be personalized is input into the personalization machine, one or more personalization operations are performed on the input document, and the document is then output from the personalization machine. The personalization operations performed on the document by known personalization machines include one or more of printing, laminating, laser engraving, magnetic stripe encoding, programming of a chip embedded in the document, and the like.
The personalization machine is often configured in the form of a unit that can perform one or more document personalization operations within a single housing. Commercial examples of document personalization machines include the SP55 Card Printer and the SP75 Card Printer each of which is available from DataCard Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn. Examples of personalization machines that perform printing are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,426,283; 5,762,431; 5,886,726; 6,315,283; 6,431,537; and 6,536,758. Of these, U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,283 describes a unit that performs chip programming in addition to printing.
It is often necessary to punch a hole in a personalized document to permit connection of a lanyard, key ring, etc. A hole can also be used to indicate that the document is void and thereby prevent issue or use of the document. A hole can also be used to destroy all or a portion of an information containing portion of a document, such as a magnetic stripe or an integrated circuit chip on a card, thereby preventing access to information stored in those areas.
Prior solutions to creating a punch hole in a personalized document such as a card include hand held punchers, hand actuated table top punchers, and electric punch machines. These prior punch devices are separate from the personalization machine and are typically used after the document has been personalized and discharged from the personalization machine. This means that the punch device takes up separate working space near the machine. In addition, the punch device can be easily removed from the working space, making the punch device unavailable when needed.
There is a need for a document personalization machine that can perform traditional personalization operations, such as printing, as well as inline document punching/voiding.